Principles and examples of effective marketing communication in gaming.
Gaming market in Poland. From niche to mainstream
If we would say that the gaming industry has been developing dynamically in recent years, it is the same as saying nothing. There are already more than 16 million players in Poland. According to the latest studies, the value of the advertising market in this category in 2020 reached USD 3.2 billion, and by 2027 it will increase to USD 6.4 billion.
Contrary to popular stereotypes, the statistical gamer is not a withdrawn geek teenager. The analysis of Polish Gamers Research conducted in the spring of 2020 shows that 76% of users aged 15-65 played a video game at least once in the last month, with almost half of the players being women (49%).
A statistical player lives in the countryside (36%), has secondary education (42%) and a permanent job (61%). What is also worth noting, according to the report, as many as 80% of Polish players prefer mobile games. Hence the growing role of mobile gaming marketing.
Video game marketing yesterday and today
The advertising potential of games was quickly noticed by brands. Examples of marketing in games appeared in the 1980s. One of the first known examples of ad-vergaming, a marketing technique based on the creation of games by brands themselves, dates back to 1983, when Atari commissioned Coca-Cola to produce a special edition of the game “Space Invaders”: “Pepsi Invaders”. Of course, the enemy was played by the Pepsi logo, the brand’s main competitor. And the player’s task was to … shoot down the letter P-E-P-S-I.
Perhaps a better solution would be to shoot down spectacularly splashing bottles. However, the projects of that time faced many technological limitations, such as low resolution of games or simple mechanics. Only the development of the gaming market and technology meant that brands began to use newer and newer creative methods of reaching the absorbing, but also demanding group of game users.
Today, video game marketing or e-sport marketing have precise tools that allow, depending on the purpose of the campaign, to increase brand awareness or product sales. From partnership or sponsorship of e-sports events, marketing in gaming communities (on popular platforms Twitch or Discord), through cooperation with influencers, to in-game advertising, which allows you to seamlessly weave marketing activities into the world of the game.
Non-standard activities using new technologies, such as AI or AR, are gaining popularity. For example, for the Danio campaign conducted on the Twitch platform, a new advertising format was created using AI, which analyzes the gameplay and launches the advertisement exactly when the character’s energy decreases. As a result, the character of the Little Hunger caught streaming players exactly when their batteries were dying out of hunger, reminding them that it’s time for a snack.
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Neon Shake in a gaming marketing game
Neon Shake’s experience in the area of game marketing is multifaceted – we have both hit game campaigns and cross-marketing campaigns.
For Ubisoft, the French giant on the gaming market, we have implemented a non-standard campaign for Watch Dogs: Legion on the YouTube platform, using personalized video contextually referring to the content watched and realistically reflecting the impression of hacking a computer. In 20 videos (each using a slightly different message), we literally dragged the recipient into the world of the game. The results? The average view time was 25.9 seconds and the view ratio was 46.19%. This is even several times more than with standard YouTube campaigns.
As part of the promotion of the hit game FarCry6, we established cooperation with the creators of the Matura to Bzdura channel to implement an episode examining the knowledge of Poles on the subject of … the island of Yara, ruled by the dictator Antón Castillo. Of course, only existing in the game.
As part of our efforts to promote the popular format for younger audiences, Just Dance, we focused on influencer marketing. In cooperation with the popular duo Fit-Lovers, Mafasshion and Barbara Kurdej-Szatan, we prepared an activation in which the influencers posted videos on their profiles where they dance … with headphones on. The viewers’ task was to guess what music they were dancing to. And the prizes including a PS4 console along with Just Dance games.
A campaign dedicated strictly to gamers is also our latest campaign for the ASUS brand, ROG For Creators, promoting the technologically advanced line of Republic Of Gamers products. With the support of gamedev industry experts and the Ten Square Games production studio, as well as in cooperation with the leaders of the Polish gaming industry, we have developed a competition aimed at creating our own game based on ready-made elements. The prize, in addition to the hi-tech laptop, is the game development workshop at Ten Square Games studio.
Let’s keep playing!
Marketing video games is certainly one of the most inspiring areas of marketing today. On the one hand, it makes it possible to use advanced tools, on the other – it requires a deep understanding of the target group and above-average creativity. It is not easy to surprise in a huge and highly competitive market. But as you can see, you can!
